Is a tent encampment really the best form of protest in San Francisco regarding the situation in Gaza? A few dozen protesters figured so on Monday, but were quickly driven off by police with something resembling rubber bullets.
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” phenomenon has died down for the moment here in the Bay Area, though we have seen similar large-scale efforts this week at UCLA and in Washington DC. Your Bay Area protest types attempted to form another encampment Monday afternoon at the Phillip Burton Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, according to the Chronicle, with tents at first being strewn right on the street in the car traffic lanes.
BREAKING: The San Francisco Pro-Palestine Protesters have fled from the Phillip Burton Federal Building and are now setting up a new encampment in the middle of the road at the intersection of Larkin and Golden Gate.
— Stu (@thestustustudio) June 10, 2024
"Intercection" 🤣 pic.twitter.com/KhcDwRdocQ
Around a dozen tents showed up shortly after 3 pm Monday, with some on the street, while the bullhorn-wielder led chants of “Free, free Palestine.” The encampment eventually moved out of traffic and onto the sidewalk in front of the Federal Building.
A Gaza solidarity encampment was just set up outside the San Francisco Federal Building pic.twitter.com/glqVv4Jf0X
— Ill Will (@illwilleditions) June 10, 2024
At that point, some 50-80 protesters continued their chants and set up their tents on that sidewalk. But it did not take long for police to move in. (Note: The video below contains an F-bomb if you have the sound on.)
After protesters built a Gaza solidarity encampment outside of the federal building in San Francisco, riot police shot them with rubber bullets and pepper balls. Frontliners used reinforced signs, banners, shields, to ensure the safety of the crowd as they dispersed. pic.twitter.com/ZlP0qBRRxw
— Escalate Network (@readytoescalate) June 11, 2024
Judging by the badges, these appear to be Federal Protective Service officers and not SFPD. An apparent eyewitness claimed that “riot police shot [the protesters] with rubber bullets and pepper balls,” and indeed, these officers were certainly firing something. The protesters used tables and whatever else was at their disposal in an attempt to shield themselves.
That said, the cops apparently won this round pretty quickly. About an hour after the above video was posted, an update from the original poster said, “all have been dispersed. Stay tuned for jail support.” Similarly, a livestream link on the rabble-rousing site IndyBay is defunct.
Per the Chronicle, “It was unclear if any arrests were made.” We will update this post if any information on arrests associated with this incident comes available.
Image: spirit.ofthelion via Instagram
